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India moves diplomat Devyani Khobragade to UN mission, following arrest in New York that sparked diplomatic row

Updated
Thu 19 Dec 2013, 10:06 AM AEDT

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India's deputy consul general Devyani Khobragade was arrested and strip-searched in New York

Facebook: Devyani Khobragade

India has transferred a diplomat at the centre of a political row with the United States to its UN mission in New York in an attempt to give her full diplomatic immunity.

The transfer of deputy consular general Devyani Khobragade to the United Nations Permanent Mission came after Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid pledged to "restore the dignity" of the diplomat who was strip-searched during her 48-hour detention in New York last week.

"To ensure diplomatic immunity to Devyani, India has shifted her to the United Nations Permanent Mission in New York," Mr Khurshid is quoted in India media as saying.

India's foreign ministry is yet to confirm the reports.

The row was triggered when Ms Khobragade, 39, was arrested last week on charges of visa fraud and making false statements about how much she paid her maid, an Indian national.

Ms Khobragade is alleged to have paid her maid just $3.31 an hour despite signing a contract to pay her three times that amount.

The diplomat pleaded not guilty and reportedly had plans to challenge the arrest on grounds of diplomatic immunity.

'Humiliated' by arrest

Anger in India boiled when it was revealed that Ms Khobragade was strip-searched following her arrest, and held in a cell with with other detainees, some of whom were allegedly drug addicts.

"I must admit that I broke down many times as the indignities of repeated handcuffing, stripping and cavity searches, swabbing, in a hold-up with common criminals and drug addicts were all being imposed upon me despite my incessant assertions of immunity," she said in the email.

The government also vowed to stop all import clearances for the US embassy, while Indian security forces removed barricades from outside the US embassy in New Delhi.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has called India's National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon and expressed regret over the incident.

The State Department says Mr Kerry underscored that he believed it was important "that foreign diplomats serving in the United States are accorded respect and dignity, just as we expect our own diplomats should receive overseas."

However, Kerry also stressed that he believed in "enforcing our laws and protecting victims."

"Like all officials in positions of responsibility inside the US government, [Kerry] expects that laws will be followed by everyone here in our country," the statement said.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the administration is looking into the arrest, "to ensure that all standard procedures were followed and that every opportunity for courtesy was extended."